Editing Long barrow (section)

==Terminology and definition==
[[File:Kit's Coty House 01.jpg|thumb|right|In cases such as [[Kit's Coty House]], [[Kent]], the earthen mound of a long barrow has been worn away by the weather or removed, exposing a stone chamber within. In this case, the surviving chamber represents a [[trilithon]] that is commonly called a dolmen.]]

Given their dispersal across Western Europe, long barrows have been given different names in the various different languages of this region.{{sfn|Hutton|2013|p=40}} 
The term ''barrow'' is a southern English dialect word for an earthen tumulus, and was adopted as a scholarly term for such monuments by the 17th-century English antiquarian [[John Aubrey]].{{sfn|Hutton|2013|p=44}} Synonyms found in other parts of Britain included ''low'' in [[Cheshire]], [[Staffordshire]], and [[Derbyshire]], ''tump'' in [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Hereford]], ''howe'' in Northern England and Scotland, and ''[[cairn]]'' in Scotland.{{sfn|Daniel|1950|p=6}}
Another term to have achieved international usage has been ''[[dolmen]]'', a [[Breton language|Breton]] word meaning "table-stone"; this is typically used in reference to the stone chambers found in some, although not all, long barrows.{{sfn|Hutton|2013|p=40}}

The historian [[Ronald Hutton]] suggested that such sites could also be termed "tomb-shrines" to reflect the fact that they appear to have often been used both to house the remains of the dead and to have been used in ritual activities.{{sfn|Hutton|2013|p=40}} Some contain no burials while others have been found to contain the remains of up to fifty people.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=13}}

===Chambered and earthen===

Early 20th-century archaeologists began to call these monuments ''chambered tombs''.{{sfn|Hutton|2013|p=40}} The archaeologists Roy and Lesley Adkins referred to these monuments as ''megalithic long barrows''.{{sfn|Adkins|Adkins|Leitch|2008|p=46}} In most cases, local stone was used where it was available.{{sfn|Malone|2001|p=107}} The decision as to whether a long barrow used wood or stone appears to have been based largely on the availability of resources.{{sfnm|1a1=Lynch|1y=1997|1p=9|2a1=Field|2y=2006|2p=21}}

The style of the chamber falls into two categories. One form, known as ''grottes sepulchrales artificielles'' in French archaeology, are dug into the earth.{{sfn|Daniel|1950|p=5}} The second form, which is more widespread, are known as ''cryptes dolmeniques'' in French archaeology and involved the chamber being erected above ground.{{sfn|Daniel|1950|p=5}} Many chambered long barrows contained side chambers within them, often producing a cruciform shape.{{sfn|Lewis-Williams|Pearce|2005|p=181}} Others had no such side alcoves; these are known as ''undifferentiated tombs''.{{sfn|Lewis-Williams|Pearce|2005|p=181}}

Some long barrows do not contain chambers inside of them. [[John Thurnham]] termed these "unchambered" barrows,{{sfn|Field|2006|p=21}} while the archaeologist [[Stuart Piggott]] favoured the term "earthen" barrows for them.{{sfnm|1a1=Field|1y=2006|1p=21|2a1=Hutton|2y=2013|2p=44}} Ian Kinnes instead used the term "non-megalithic barrows".{{sfn|Field|2006|pp=21-22}} These long barrows might have used timber because stone was not available.{{sfn|Hutton|2013|p=40}} Some classificatory systems, such as that employed by the United Kingdom's [[National Monuments Record (disambiguation)|National Monuments Record]], do not distinguish between the different types of long barrow.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=22}}

The archaeologist David Field noted that drawing typological distinctions on the basis of material used can mask important similarities between different long barrows.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=21}} Also criticising the focus on classification, the archaeologists Lewis-Williams and Pearce believed that doing so distracted scholars from the task of explaining the meaning and purpose behind the monuments.{{sfn|Lewis-Williams|Pearce|2005|p=181}}

===Design and architecture===

Long barrows are single mounds, usually of earth, which are flanked by ditches.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=13}} They are usually between 20 and 70 metres in length, although there are some exceptional examples at either end of this spectrum.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=27}}

The construction of long barrows in the Early Neolithic would have required the co-operation of a number of different individuals and would have represented an important investment in time and resources.{{sfn|Lynch|1997|pp=5–6}} They were built without the use of metal tools.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=14}}

There is often regional variation in style and material. In the north and west of Britain, for instance, long barrows often consist of stone mounds containing chambers inside of them, whereas in the south and east of Britain these long barrows are typically made of earth.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=22}}

Many were altered and restyled over their long period of use.{{sfn|Malone|2001|p=107}}
Ascertaining at what date a long barrow was constructed is difficult for archaeologists as a result of the various modifications that were made to the monument during the Early Neolithic.{{sfn|Malone|2001|p=108}} Similarly, both modifications and later damage can make it difficult to determine the nature of the original long barrow design.{{sfn|Daniel|1950|p=7}}

Architecturally, there is much overlap between long barrows and other monument types from Neolithic Europe, such as the [[bank barrow]]s, [[cursus monument]]s, [[long cairn]]s, and [[mortuary enclosure]]s.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=27}} Bank barrows are stylistically similar to the long barrows but are considerably longer.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=28}} Cursus monuments also exhibit parallel ditches, but also extend over much longer distances than the long barrows.{{sfn|Field|2006|p=30}}

Enviro-archaeological studies have demonstrated that many of the long barrows were erected in wooded landscapes.{{sfn|Malone|2001|pp=107–108}} In Britain, these chambered long barrows are typically located on prominent hills and slopes,{{sfn|Malone|2001|p=106}} in particular being located above rivers and inlets and overlooking valleys.{{sfn|Malone|2001|pp=106–107}} In Britain, long barrows were also often constructed near to [[causewayed enclosure]]s, a form of earthen monument.{{sfn|Malone|2001|p=107}}